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Lilith Magazine - From the Archives
Lilith Magazine Covers Yiddish
A Little History of Lilith and Yiddish
Thanks to the generosity of Elaine Reuben, Lilith has been able to create this online anthology from our archives: translations, essays and culture reporting--all with Yiddish at their core.
Yiddish was the vernacular language of both Jewish women and men in Ashkenazi Europe, but was especially important in the intellectual lives of women, who were often denied the opportunity to learn Hebrew. So women's literary expressions--from petitionary prayers (tkhines) to novels--were written in Yiddish. Then, in a deeper fashion, and by extension, Yiddish became identified with women, with viblishe zakhn--women's things--because Hebrew was thought to be the more muscular, powerful, self-actualizing, virile tongue of modern Israel. Yiddish was called a "bastard tongue," as if most modern languages weren't derived from others!
Since its premier issue in 1976, Lilith has been involved in the retrieval of women's writing in Yiddish--from the bilingual Yiddish/English poetry of Irena Klepfisz to original translations of the work of Esther Singer Kreitman, the forgotten sister of I.B. and I.J. Singer. (Sidenote: their mother insisted that Esther burn many of her manuscripts, claiming that writing would render her unmarriageable.)
Today, Yiddish is a marker for aspects of secular Jewish culture, including but certainly not limited to the klezmer revival revolution, an exploding interest in Yiddish language classes, the cultivation of a queer Yiddish counterculture, and plenty more, much of it intrinsically bound up with women's voices and women's activism.
Yiddish expression is a window onto a history of rallies, strikes, broadsides and other actions undertaken by Jewish women, both in the Old Country and in the New World. For women who do not identify with religious aspects of Judaism, this history of social action accessed through Yiddish language and Yiddish writing is very attractive.
With Yiddish enjoying a revival as a language and culture among women, Lilith's "connective tissue" binds all these aspects together, preserving and reauthorizing our past in a way that spotlights its present meaning as well.
Watch this space for more!
More on Yiddish from Lilith's Archives
Click to download these articles as pdfs
Yiddish Divas Take the Stage, by Joan Roth, Winter 2006-2007
A photo essay spotlighting stars of the Yiddish stage, who in their 80s and 90s still woo and wow audiences.
The Queen of Yiddish: Kadya Molodowsky, by Sheva Zucker, Spring 2000
Meet Kadya Molodowsky, one of the greatest writers of Yiddish literature. A quarter-century after her death, a new book delivers her poetry in full to English readers.
Gender Rebellion in Yiddish Film (It's More Than Victor/Victoria!), by Eve Sicular, Winter 1995-1996
"Trouser roles" aren’t just the property of Marlene Deitrich and Julie Andrews. Read here about Molly Picon’s popular crossdressing—-and what the droll, surprisingly subversive world of Yiddish film reveals. What’s gender anxiety got to do with Jewish anxiety? Lots.
Esther Singer Kreitman: The Trammeled Talent of Isaac Bashevis Singer's Neglected Sister, by Clive Sinclair, Spring 1991
An uncommon glimpse into sibling politics and the hidden dynamics of Eastern Europe’s famous literary family. Why don’t we know about the sister?
Adrienne Cooper: Singing to Save Yiddishkeit by Maria Steiglitz, Summer 1991
She brings Yiddish music to the masses.
The New World, by Esther Singer Kreitman, translated by Barbara Harshav, Spring 1991
An eerily autobiographical short story about a newborn daughter—an infant whos realities fail to live up to her own prenatal expectations.
God of Vengeance, by Kaier Curtin, Spring 1988
The Roaring 20’s lesbian play that rocked Broadway came from the pen of Yiddish writer Sholom Asch.
Mother Nature and Human Nature: the Poetry of Malka Heifetz Tussman, by Marcia Falk, 1987
One of the many gifted women of her generation writing in Yiddish, Tussman—who died last spring at 91—is remembered here by a younger poet. An added attraction: Falk’s translation of Tussman’s poetry.
A Woman's Wrath, by I.L. Peretz, translated by Zora Zagrabelna, Fall 1976
A truer picture than "Fiddler on the Roof" of what shtetl life was like for women - a new translation from the work of the great Yiddish storyteller.
Do you have powerful stories about women and Yiddish? Want to share them? Leave your comments below!
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